Cheesy Creamed Spinach

We don’t go out for steak very often, in part because it’s good on the grill or under the broiler at home and in part because good steakhouses generally charge a lot. Still, I love a good steakhouse–probably the most conservative kind of restaurant we have (in the best way possible). Steakhouses tend to serve very traditional starters and sides: Caesar salads, crab cakes, shrimp and crab cocktail. I fell in love with a very traditional steakhouse side–creamed spinach–a long time ago.

Truth be told, not every restaurant makes this well. Cooked spinach can be slightly sweet, and adding cream can make the whole thing bland. The version below reflects the steakhouse dishes I’ve liked best. The key is the cheese: parmesan is stirred in to the spinach-cream mixture and a mixture of parmesan and gruyere goes on top, allowed to bubble and brown. This version also includes cayenne; we list three fourths of a teaspoon below, but you could use a little bit less or more. In the amount listed, the cayenne adds a little bit of heat–just enough of a kick to cut through the unctuousness of the creamed spinach, but not enough to make this in any way a spicy dish.

You could, for a slightly sharper version, use pecorino Romano instead of the parmesan. Also, using fresh spinach will not add very much flavor or texture, but will probably double the time this takes to make. Frozen is fine.

One final tip: people will sometimes tell you that you shouldn’t add salt to a dish containing parmesan. Do not listen. They are probably thinking of some horrible pre-shredded fake cheese mix that was mostly salt in the first place. For a dish like this one, season at every stage and then taste for seasoning before it all goes in the oven.